Posts Tagged ‘study’

By now you know after four years of my makeup tutorials, I LIVE for a good experiment. I’ve always wondered how much of a difference there is if you line the lips first then apply lipstick or apply lipstick first then apply lip liner. Am I the only one? Maybe LOL! But I had to shoot the experiment to see for myself. Here are my findings albeit subtle:

This is the exact reverse. First apply the lipstick over your entire lip area as you typically would.

Now go back over the perimeter with the lip pencil.

So which look do you like better? It seems that lining it after leads to the tendency to go a little exaggerated and slightly above the natural lip line. But looking at them side by side, not so much. Applying the liner first is much cleaner because the line is mostly blended away, while applying it second is more dramatic. Would love to hear your thoughts below!

One of my favorite things to do is to pick a feature and compare the different ways that we can accentuate and define it. Today, let’s take the browbone; the area just underneath the brow. Daily, for the most part, I leave mine bare. Not because visually that’s my favorite look, but probably because these days I like to keep my morning routine fast and minimal. But if you watch me makeup my clients, I always either use a highlighter or a balm to add a little life to the area. It draws the attention to the brow, which has the important task of framing the eye. So let’s compare them and decide which one we like the best!

TOOLS:

Your Favorite Highlighter: I love this one used on Chloe above ($$) and this one ($).

By now you know that I love a good comparison study! Because when we see something side-by-side, it’s much easier to see what each technique really does. Does rimming the entire eye make it more piercing or make the eye look smaller? Is it more dramatic when it’s smudged? Is it worth it to rim the waterline? Let’s walk through each “ring”: (more…)

Today I’m bringing the spotlight to the lower lashline and the many options we have to define it! So I kept two variables constant (same eye and the same upper eye makeup) in order to really see the difference between six lower lashline applications. They are:

Bare — this is a great choice when you want all of the attention to go to the upper lid makeup (causing a “lifting” effect).

Mascara — coat the bottom lashes with a volumizing mascara. This option brings the lower lashes to life with nothing to compete against them.

Dotted line — take a velvet black pencil and draw a dot in between the lashes all the way across the lashline. This option makes it appear like you have more lashes than you really do, while also defining the line without anyone knowing you’re defining it.

Lined — start at the inner corner and drag the pencil across the lashline to the outer corner. This is the classic choice to define the lower lashline that women have done for decades.

Smudged — blend the line with a smudge brush using short strokes incrementally as you work your way across the line. This makes the line a little more “smoked” and less “lined”.

Inner Rimmed — gently pull the lower lid down with your finger for better access to the waterline then sweep the pencil back and forth along it until no spaces remain. This option closes up the eyes a little and makes them look smaller BUT makes them look much more intense and piercing.

It’s nice to see all the options lined up (pun intended!) to really study the different effect each application has. I personally like to switch it up depending on my mood, day v. night, my outfit, etc but I have clients who insist on leaving it bare and others who have to have it inner rimmed… while most are open to whatever balances out the upper lid. I’d love to know what you prefer so please vote below!